The show’s solo acoustic presentation – he’s on his “I, Alone” tour -- meant to strip down the instrumentation of his solo songs and those from his former band, did that, sometimes with exceptional results.

But in stripping away some of the tension those instruments created in the music, it also sometimes stripped away a lot of what made the songs hits – helped them in “selling the drama,” you might say.

Thankfully, it was more of the latter – and the moments that should have carried intensity mostly did, most of them later in the show.

But some of the early songs in a 16-song, 80-minute set didn’t quite reach those heights.

For example, the opening “All Over You,” among the five biggest Live hits Kowalczyk played, clearly missed the band treatment. It wasn’t that Kowalczyk, playing acoustic guitar with only an acoustic bassist accompanying him, wasn’t intent or didn’t have a strong voice, but it’s a song identified by the instrumentation.

Even Kowalczyk seemed to acknowledge that. Just because it was an acoustic show, he told the sold-out crowd of about 300, “that doesn’t mean you can’t at least attempt to shake your money-maker, Sellersville.” On a deeper Live cut, “The Distance,” Kowalczyk even struggled a bit with the higher notes.

Interestingly, he skipped one of Live's biggest hits, "Lakini's Juice," which could have been great -- or not -- concidering its hard-rock orientation.

But with Live’s roots in York, the crowd was clearly on his side, clapping along through the song and reacting almost worshipful to “The Dolphin’s Cry,” which despite Kowalczyk’s growls-and-syrup delivery also came up short of the original.

On another deeper cut, the early Live single “Pain Lives on the Riverside,” a half-dozen people danced in the aisles and cheered loudly as, deeply invested, Kowalczyk demonstrated fine strumming.

The irony might have been that the new songs Kowalczyk played from his upcoming sophomore solo disc were some of the best tunes in the early part of the set. “Angels on a Razor,” the song he called his favorite of the new bunch, had a nice melody and had him singing in a naturally dramatic voice.

The new “All That I Wanted,” with its questioning lyrics, was one of the better ones – he also noted that the song has him “whistling again. I had a good run with that in the ‘90s.” And “The Garden,” the title song of Kowalczyk’s recent EP, was especially good.

But the concert was best when Kowalczyk played the hits that benefited from the acoustic treatment.

“Selling the Drama,” the No. 1 Live hit from 1994, played mid-set, was one such song. Acoustically it remained close to the original, and its importance to Kowalczyk was evident, as he was attentive to its detail. “Pillar of Davidson” sounded like it was made for acoustic presentation – Kowalczyk’s voice high and pinched. And “I Alone,” which closed the main set, was dramatic and well presented.

It was no coincidence those three songs are all from Live’s biggest album, 1994’s “Throwing Copper.” And while being the band’s high-water mark clearly was important to which songs succeeded, it wasn’t the only factor.

The night’s closer, for example, was Live’s biggest hit, “Lightning Crashes,” also from that disc. It’s an undeniably great song, and the crowd clapped along from the start. But it’s a suite designed to progress from acoustic to barreling rock, and because it couldn’t do that, it lost some of its impact.

It didn’t help that Kowalczyk seemed to rush through it, and even forgot some words, which he laughingly acknowledged.

Probably the night’s best songs was a six-minute pairing of “Heaven” with U2’s “With or Without You.” Kowalczyk dedicated it to mothers and daughters – he has three – and sang it warmly and spiritually.

And “Overcome,” which opened the encore and which he reminded the crowd came out around 9/11, was simply beautiful. With its imagery of holy water and theme of submission, it was almost hymnal – a great song, and one perfect for acoustic treatment.

My husband and I saw this show and thought it was fantastic. Ed has unbelievable musical talent and passion. He rocked the Sellersville Theater! And I thought the acoustic Lightning Crashes was the highlight of the evening.

Posted By: Andrea | Mar 5, 2013 10:16:24 PM

"sold out crowd of 300." Well, at least Ed didn't give away half of the tickets for free. Or maybe he did?

Posted By: 83zas5 | Apr 22, 2013 6:19:11 PM

Still on the fence about Ed ever since 2009. I haven't checked out his solo album yet but maybe i will after reading this. Still day dreaming about a reunion.

Posted By: PeteyBaby | May 10, 2013 10:29:00 PM

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JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.